UEFA Cup 2007/2008 First Round Red Bull Salzburg v AEK Athens. First leg: 20 September – Athens Return leg: 04 October – Bulls Arena 8:30 pm
Salzburg fans will once more be able to feast their eyes on a top European team in the Bulls Arena.
Red Bull Salzburg are to play the runners-up from the land of the current European Champions, AEK Athens.
The Greeks yesterday lost their Champions League Qualifying second leg 1-4 in Athens to one of the strongest teams on the continent, Sevilla.
The first match of the UEFA Cup tie will take place on 20 September in Athens. The two sides will then fight it out again on 4 October at 8:30 pm in the Bulls Arena.
AEK Athens are certainly one of the more traditional and successful clubs in the competition.
Football is a way of life in Greece, with passions for the game just as strong as ever in the land of the 2004 European Champions.
Facts: AEK Athens, last season’s Greek runners-up, were formed in 1924 and have won an impressive 11 Greek championships and 13 Greek cups. The Greek side normally clad themselves in black and yellow, while they play their home matches at the Olympic Stadium in Athens.
The start of this year’s Greek season has been delayed due to the terrible forest fires ravaging the country, but AEK are to get their campaign underway soon.
The biggest names at the Athens club are Brazilians Rivaldo and Julio Cesar, and Greeks Nikolaos Liberopoulos and Traianos Dellas.
Rivaldo in particular stands out of the AEK line-up as one of the present-day greats.
In 1999 he was voted European and World Footballer of the Year.
2002 was another year to remember for the Brazilian trickster. He gained both UEFA Cup and World Cup winners’ medals.
Rivaldo’s career has taken him to, amongst other destinations, Deportivo La Coruna, Barcelona, AC Milan and Olympiakos. He was signed by AEK Athens in May 2007.
